Designing “The League Of Wise Guardians”: a narrative-based co-research training model with children and adolescents in Chilean public schools

Children and adolescents are increasingly recognized not only as participants in research but as knowledge producers capable of shaping the questions, methods, and meanings of inquiry. However, in practice, their participation is often limited by adult-centered designs, institutional constraints, and a lack of pedagogical models to support research decision-making. This Brief Research Report presents the design and preliminary validation of The League of Wise Guardians , a narrative-based training model developed to support children and adolescents as co-researchers in Chilean public schools. Adopting a qualitative Design-Based Research approach, the study drew on documentary analysis, exploratory work with children and adolescents, expert review, participatory pilot testing with upper primary students, and facilitator reflection. The design and preliminary validation process identified four core components of the model: (1) a playful narrative universe that makes research concepts accessible; (2) a structure for progressive decision-making across the research process; (3) a four-phase training cycle integrating methodological learning with research action; and (4) facilitation principles attentive to children's agency, methodological rigor, and school conditions. The study contributes a situated pedagogical model for translating participation rights into concrete research practice. It suggests that meaningful co-research requires more than child-friendly materials; it requires a pedagogical architecture through which children and adolescents can gradually understand, exercise, and share decision-making power. Further research is needed to examine the model's implementation, how children and adolescents take up co-research roles, the quality of participation, and how decision-making power is negotiated across the research process.